The 8 Wrong Questions PR Firms Are Asking About Social Media

The enthusiasm about social media among public relations professionals is rampant, and encouraging. Wanting to be at the center of a new way to communicate to customers and prospects is a worthy objective. But, under pressure from digital and advertising agencies each looking to be the driver of the social media express, PR firms are sometimes turning over inquisitional rocks that do not portray them as strategic caretakers of brands’ social presences.

1. What’s the hot new trend in social media that we can bring to our clients?

Better question: How can we optimize and improve our existing social media programs?

2. What’s the best way to get the most possible Facebook “likes” and Twitter followers?

Better question: How can we encourage existing customers to truly engage with our clients on the social Web?

3. How can we make a viral video that gets thousands of views?

Better question: How can we optimize a video so that prospective customers find it in search results?

4. How much money should we be pulling from the email budget, to support social media?

Better question: How can we integrate email and social media to increase customization and relevancy?

5. How can we convince our clients that we’re good at social media?

Better question: How can we create content in multiple forms and locations that demonstrates our expertise?

6. How can we find a social media guru to add to our team?

Better question: How can we distribute social media knowledge across the entire firm, including ongoing training and knowledge sharing?

7. How can we create a killer social media campaign that will get noticed?

Better question: How can we develop a sustainable, ongoing social media strategy that will turn customers into advocates over the long haul?

8. How can we find the most influential bloggers and get them to write about our client?

Better question: How can we find the existing customers that are already passionate about our client, and turn them into a volunteer marketing army?

Of course, there are a ton of outstanding PR firms doing excellent work in social media, including all the folks I have the great privilege to work with every day here at Convince & Convert. But there are still plenty of PR firms (and companies, for that matter) looking at social media purely as a distribution vehicle. What do you think?